The Awaiting Abyss
by Mecha Shadow
Summary: Derin is a normal teenager at Destiny High. But recent events changed him, and he no longer will accept his real name. Will one of his new friends help him find his light? NamineOC R&R, please.
1. The Beginning of Hate

DISCLAIMER TIME!

Derin, Xedrin, and Victoria are © me

Sora, Kairi, Riku, and other related characters are © Square Enix, Inc.

All Final Fantasy characters are © Square Enix, Inc.

"_You are pathetic! Worthless human, you will forever exist in darkness! You will never find the light, for your sins bind you to this forsaken land!"_

"_No! I have redeemed myself! I have proven worthy of the light! You lie!"_

"_You thought you could be forgiven for what you've done? Too much blood was shed on your account! You belong here, worthless cur!"_

"_NOOO!"_

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"No!"

Derin sat bolt upright in his bed, drenched in cold sweat.

"The same nightmare. That same godforsaken nightmare."

He had been having the same dream for the past few months, and he wondered what it meant. He had committed many terrible crimes in the past, but he had redeemed himself when he saved the world from his former superiors. That dream had haunted him ever since.

He shielded his eyes from the bright light of the sun, early in the morning.

"Well, time for another day of torture."

Derin hated school, just like any other teenager did. His only real reason for going was so that he could see his friends. To him, that day was like any other. He got out of bed, showered, grabbed a pop tart from the pantry and ran out the door.

He took his usual route, the same route anyone else would take walking to school. He got to a certain point on the sidewalk, and stopped.

"Three… two… one…"

On cue, three large high school jocks stepped out from behind a corner and walked towards him.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't Derin the Dweeb."

Derin let out a loud sigh and looked up at them, as they easily stood at least half a foot taller than him.

"What do you three clowns want?"

The jocks laughed.

"We still owe you payback for what you did to Seifer."

"Yeah, he's really pissed at you. So we're here to even it out a little."

Derin smirked.

"I don't see how you're going to do that."

The middle jock growled at him, and then threw a punch straight at his head. Derin easily stepped to the right, and then grabbed the jock's arm, and heaved him over his shoulder, leaving a large imprint of the jock in the pavement. Then, Derin dusted off his gloved hands, and left with a satisfied look on his face.

"I always wanted to do that."

He got to school, and immediately headed for his locker. It wasn't very far away from the main entrance, which was convenient for him in case he had to leave in a hurry. Once he was done, he headed for homeroom. He dashed in the door just before the tardy bell rang.

Derin looked around the room a little, seeing as this was his second day of school, and he never introduced himself to anyone the day before. He quickly spotted his seat, right next to his old friend, Roxas. As soon as he sat down, the teacher walked in and class began.

(A.N.-I'm gonna skip the boring school day routine, up 'till lunch.)

He walked into the lunchroom and spotted Roxas waving to him. He wasted no time in getting to the table and sitting down.

"Hey man, what's up?"

Derin smirked at his life-long friend.

"Beat the shit out of Seifer this morning. Had fun moppin' the floor with his face!"

"Yeah, he's been causing trouble ever since day one at this school. It's about time someone put him in his place. I would've, but I'm too lazy."

Derin looked over the other people that were grouped around them, and Roxas smacked himself in the forehead.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. Derin, this is my cousin, Sora," he flicked his thumb at a brown-haired boy next to him, who waved a "hi" at Derin, who simply waved back, "this is Kairi," he pointed to a red-haired girl next to Derin, who waved.

"Hi there, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too."

Roxas continued, "that guy next to her is Riku," he pointed to a light blue-haired guy next to Kairi, who simply waved, only really moving his hand and two fingers, "these two are Olette and Hayner," he flicked his thumb to his other side, towards a brown-haired girl, who smiled warmly at Derin, and a blonde-haired guy, who waved slightly, "and lastly, that girl over there," he pointed to a blonde-haired girl a few seats to Derin's right, "is Naminé."

Derin looked over at her, a little confused.

"Is she always this anti-social?"

Roxas shook his head.

"No, not usually. But she's a little shy, and won't say 'hi' or introduce herself until she gets a little more comfortable around you. Don't sweat it; she's always been like this."

Derin looked over at her again, before turning back to the group, not really into the conversation anymore, his thoughts constantly drifting back to Naminé.

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Derin walked back down the usual path to his home, still thinking about Naminé, finding it odd that he couldn't seem to get her out of his head. When he got home, he was surprised to find that the door was unlocked. He walked inside, and gasped when he saw the inside of his house. Bits of porcelain and broken glass lay on the floor, and there were several blood splatters on the walls and floors. He walked into the kitchen, and was horrified to see his mother, lying dead in a pool of her own blood. There were several stab wounds on her chest and throat, and her wrists were cut. He fell to his knees, tears forming in his eyes.

"No… no, Mom, please."

But it was too late for his plea, for she was already dead. Then, when he felt her hand, he found it was surprisingly warm, which meant to him that she had only died recently. Suddenly, he heard a gunshot coming from his parents' room. He quickly dashed up the stairs and into the room, and found his father lying dead on the floor, a bullet in his head. Then, Derin looked up and saw the criminal who caused it all. He was a large, bulky man with a rugged chin and broad shoulders. The man saw Derin, and pulled his gun.

"You should've stayed in school kid."

But Derin wasn't afraid of the man, and rage was all that he showed on his face. The man fired a shot at him, but nothing happened. Derin was not affected by the bullet. The man fired again, only to get the same result.

"What's this, you some kind of mutant, kid?"

The man backed away from Derin, dropping his gun in the process. In Derin's hands, a large, **_pink_** scythe with a **_green_** handle appeared. Derin slowly walked towards the man, a look of hatred in his eyes.

"_You killed my parents._"

The man began begging for his life.

"Please, no! Don't kill me, I beg of you!"

Derin did not stop.

"_You cannot be forgiven for your crime._"

"No, please, don't!"

"_Therefore, you must die._"

"NOOO!"

The only other sounds heard were the sound of steel cutting through flesh, and the last, agonizing scream of the criminal before he died.

Suspenceful, ain't it? Yep, Derin has now become sumthin other than what he was before. Reviews appreciated, flames shall be used for fireplace.


	2. The Dark Hero

MS: ANGSTINESS, and yet, kinda gothic at the same time. (of course, I don't even know what real gothic stuff is.)

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Derin came to school the next day, but he had changed. Instead of his usual red and white attire, he wore a long, black coat, with the hood up, hiding his face. He wore all black, including gloves and shoes. On the way to the school, he ran into Seifer and his gang again.

"You're gonna get it this time, lamer!"

Derin merely stood, unmoving from his spot.

"Prepare to hurt!"

Seifer threw a punch at Derin, but he did the same as before. He stepped to the side, and he grabbed Seifer's arm. But instead of heaving him over his shoulder, Derin kicked him in the gut, and swung him around, into a car. Then, Derin summoned a giant tomahawk in his right hand, and swung it at Seifer. Seifer barely managed to dodge the attack, and the car was chopped in half. Seeing this, he and his gang ran off. Derin watched them run.

"Hmph, fools."

Once he got there, Derin didn't waste any time. He immediately got to his homeroom, after removing his hood, and sat down at his usual spot. Roxas shot a worried glance over at his friend.

Derin's never acted like this before. I wonder what happened…

He decided not to ask about it until lunch. Then, the teacher walked in and the usual school day commenced.

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Derin sat down at the lunch table, next to Kairi again. Roxas decided to ask him flat out.

"Dude, what's with the coat? You decided to change you're look or something?"

Derin scoffed.

"Don't you guys ever read the papers?"

A newspaper materialized in his hand, and he tossed it into the center of the table. The group looked over the front page. It read, "THREE PEOPLE FOUND DEAD IN BOY'S HOUSE. AUTHORITIES BAFFLED." In the article itself, it read that both of Derin's parents were found dead in his home the day before. His mother was stabbed to death, and his father was shot. The biggest mystery of the crime, though, was that the killer himself was also found dead in his parents' room, decapitated by a large blade.

"That man died because of me. I killed him to avenge my parents."

"Dude, don't blame yourself-,"

"Don't you understand? I DID IT! I KILLED A MAN WITH A WEAPON THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE!"

"Calm down! Get a hold of yourself!"

Derin calmed himself, and then ate his lunch in silence.

"Derin, tell us what's wrong."

He let out a loud sigh, and then turned his head toward Roxas.

"That is no longer who I am. My name is Xedrin."

With that, he stood up and walked off, leaving his friends in shock. Even Naminé was worried about him.

"What's wrong with him?"

Sora bowed his head.

"Don't worry about it, Naminé, it's not our business."

"Oh… okay."

She didn't like the idea of leaving Xedrin to suffer for the loss of his family. She knew how he felt, for her parents died when she was a child. Her foster parents weren't the nicest people to live with, either.

I hope he'll be okay…

-------------------------------------------

Xedrin walked out of the school, not caring about the presence he felt around him.

"Hey you."

Xedrin halted in mid step, looking around for the owner of the voice.

"Over here."

Xedrin whirled around to face three guys, all dressed the same as him. The one on the right had his bluish-silver hair in an emo-style haircut. The one on the left had his blonde hair in a Mohawk. The one in the middle had long, spiked red hair, and had green arrows painted on his face. Xedrin looked at them blankly.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The middle one laughed.

"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

He motioned to the man on his right.

"This is Zexion. Z-E-X-I-O-N. Got it memorized?"

He then motioned to the man on his left.

"And this is Demyx. D-E-M-Y-X. Got it memorized?"

Xedrin scoffed.

"What do you want?"

Axel laughed again.

"We heard about your killing the murderer of your parents in order to avenge them. We simply wish to aid you in that ordeal. See, we're part of a bounty-hunting group called The Organization. We kill criminals, like that guy, for profit and enjoyment. We seek to avenge those who were killed. You might be just what we need."

"Interesting proposal," Xedrin stroked his chin thoughtfully, "What's the catch?"

The three of them burst into laughter.

"Catch?" Demyx managed to say in between laughs, "There is no catch. We have no reason to take anything from you."

The laughing ceased, and Axel offered his hand.

"Whaddya say? Are you in?"

Xedrin smirked.

This might be interesting.

He shook Axel's hand.

"Sure, I'm in."

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Xedrin, Axel, Demyx, and Zexion were all grouped on the roof of the school building, hoods up, waiting.

"So, who's this guy?"

Axel turned to Xedrin.

"He hasn't committed any murders yet, but he's been a real nuisance. So far, he's raped 6 teenage girls, all around your age, and robbed 4 houses. Amazing the local authorities didn't do anything about him sooner."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, he attends this school. I'll tell you when I see him. He usually rapes the girls around here."

Sure enough, the man appeared, dragging a struggling young girl with him. She was tied up and gagged, but Xedrin immediately recognized her.

"Wait, isn't that, Naminé?"

Demyx looked over at him.

"Friend of yours?"

Xedrin nodded, rage boiling up inside him. Then, he got a better look at the man who was dragging her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Seifer. That little…"

Xedrin stood, fists clenched.

"I'll handle this. He's not much of a threat."

He jumped down from the school building, landing right in front of Seifer. Seifer jumped, and then pulled a dagger and held it to Naminé's throat.

"Take one more step, and I swear, I'll kill her!"

Xedrin chuckled lightly.

"You wouldn't do that, now would you, Seifer?"

"What? How do you know my name? Who are you?"

Xedrin laughed, and then used a telekinetic shock to make him drop the dagger.

"Seifer, you fool, it's only me."

He removed his hood to reveal his face, and then summoned his scythe. Seifer glared at him.

"_You_!"

Xedrin laughed again.

"Yes, me. I'm the last person you'll ever see. You picked the wrong person to mess with this time, Seifer. Now, no one will save you. No one would even _want_ to save you!"

Xedrin edged closer to Seifer, until he was within killing range.

"_Farewell_."

He swung at Seifer, and cleaved his head off. Then he ran over to the still tied up Naminé, and erased that image from her memory. He untied her, replaced his hood, and began to walk away.

"Wait!"

He halted in mid step. She ran up to him.

"I wanted to thank you, for saving me."

Xedrin turned his head slightly to see her with the corner of his eye.

"No need, just doing my job as an Agent."

She ran in front of him in order to block his path, and removed his hood.

"I still want to thank you, Xedrin."

She stood up on her toes and kissed him. He resisted a little at first, but then he welcomed her touch, and kissed back. When they parted, he backed up, and disappeared in a portal that he created. Naminé stood there, smiling at where he once stood.

I think I'm in love.

Then, she saw writing on the wall of the school. It read, "You must never tell anyone about what happened tonight. I don't want our friends to worry about me any more than they do now."

She frowned slightly.

"I guess this means I can't tell anyone about the man who saved me tonight. About Xedrin, the dark hero."

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MS: YESSSS! The dark hero is born! Anyways, R&R please!


	3. The Rise of Xedrin

Ok, since I have nothing to say, on with the show!

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The next day, Xedrin did not arrive at school, and Roxas and company began to worry.

"He's not one to miss a school day. Where the hell is he?"

Even Naminé was worried, even though she knew why he was gone.

He must be hiding, or off somewhere saving someone else.

Her thoughts went to the kiss she gave him the night before.

Why did I do that? Surely, I don't love him, do I?

She looked around the lunchroom one more time before returning to her drawing.

C'mon, Xedrin, where are you?

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Xedrin, Axel, Demyx, and Zexion were all grouped inside the police station at the Destiny Islands' mainland, receiving their pay, and then they were briefed on their next bounty.

"His name is Setzer, one of Seifer's gang's members," the police officer explained, "So far, five homicides, three robberies, and six probations for defacing public property. The government has decided that he is too dangerous to live. Therefore, you four have been assigned to eliminate him."

"Where can we find him and the rest of this gang?"

The officer pointed to an area on a map of Destiny Island.

"Somewhere around the local high school. But be careful, after you guys took out Seifer, they found out who one of you guys was, and who your friends were. They're hunting you guys actively now, so watch your backs."  
Axel nodded.

"You got it. Let's go guys. The dead wait for us to seek their vengeance. We shouldn't keep them waiting."

With that, the group disappeared through their respective portals.

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The remainder of the school day was as hectic as ever for Naminé. When school finally ended, she darted out the door in hopes of seeing Xedrin again. But when she got outside, there were only the regular students walking home or driving off in their flashy cars. Roxas, Sora, and Kairi ran out the door after her.

"What's up, Naminé? Who're you looking for?"

She turned around to face them, and gave them a fake smile.

"Just someone I met the other day, no one important."

Two large figures cast their shadow over her. She turned around to face a tall man with long blue hair, and had scars all over his face. The second man was tall and muscular, and had a goatee to boot.

"Looking for someone, Miss?"

Naminé slowly backed away from them.

"Yes, not that it's any of your business."

"Oh, I think it is. We know where to find him, too. We can take you to him, all of you."

Roxas, Sora, and Kairi began to back away as well.

"Who are you talking about?"

The man laughed.

"Why, your little friend, Xedrin, of course. We can take you to him."

Then, two cloaked men appeared behind them, knocked Roxas and Sora out, and dragged them away. Then, the two large men knocked out Naminé and Kairi, and dragged them away as well.

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Xedrin looked up from the map he was reading, and stared straight ahead. The four of them were in Axel's Mustang convertible, heading to get their bounty on Setzer.

Axel was driving, Xedrin was in the passenger seat, and Demyx and Zexion were in the back seat. Axel glanced at him.

"What's up, Xed? Something happen?"

Xedrin turned his head to face Axel.

"Don't call me that. And yes, something has happened," he quickly glanced to their right, and snapped his fingers twice. All four of them quickly put their hoods up, in order to hide their identities as they passed the school, "I sense that my friends are in danger."

He then saw a man heaving a girl that looked like Kairi into the back seat of his car, and then he saw his face.

"Axel, I found him!" he pointed at the man, "There he is! That's Setzer, that's our guy!"

Axel looked in the direction Xedrin was pointing, and gasped.

"You're right, that's him! Let's get him!"

"Wait, he has hostages, we can't just jump in and attack! Let's follow him. Put the roof up."

Axel reached over and pressed a button on the dashboard, and the car roof unfolded and placed itself on top of the car. Then, Axel slowed down in order to let Setzer pull out, and then he slowly followed the gang and his group, driving casually in order to keep suspicion at a low. After following the gang for an hour, they came upon a small, worn out shack, not really useful for anything anymore, except for a hideout.

"You guys ready?"

Axel, Demyx, and Zexion nodded a "yes" to their partner, and then they each used a portal to warp inside of the hideout.

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Naminé slowly came to, and observed her surroundings. She was in a room of some sort, but she didn't know what. Tools lined the many shelves and walls the room had, indicating it was some kind of tool shed. Then, she saw the man who kidnapped her. He grinned evilly at her.

"It's about time you woke up, little girl. I was beginning to worry about you."

She glared at him.

"What do you want?"

"I want revenge for what your friend did to Seifer. He was a brother to me, and now he's dead!"

"Seifer got what he deserved, nothing less!"

Setzer growled and brought his hand back to strike her, when someone behind him caught his hand and swung him into a wall. He looked up and saw four men in black cloaks standing in the room. The one on his near right, the man who stopped him, wagged his left hand finger at him.

(A.N.- Okay, it's an unusually LARGE worn out shed. Happy now?)

"Now, now, Setzer, is that any way to treat a lady?"

Naminé recognized that voice.

"Xedrin? Is that you?"

The hooded man turned his head to face Naminé, who was still tied up on the floor. He nodded slightly before returning his attention to Setzer, who was joined by Raijin and Fuujin. Axel grinned underneath his hood.

"Whaddya say we take this outside? There doesn't seem to be enough room in here for a fight between the seven of us."

Setzer grinned back.

"Sure, why not? Wouldn't want your friends to get hurt."

The seven of them walked out of the shack, and stood facing each other. Xedrin, Axel, Demyx, and Zexion removed their hoods, and both Rai and Fuu glared at Xedrin.

"_YOU!_" They both said in unison.

Xedrin smirked at them.

"Yes, me. That's the exact same thing Seifer said before he died."

Axel summoned his chakrams, Demyx summoned his sitar, Zexion summoned his dagger, and Xedrin summoned two key-shaped weapons. The one in his right hand was black, and seemed to be made purely of darkness, while the one in his left hand was the exact opposite, shorter, and shined a pure white.

(A.N.- Yes, Zexion's weapon in Chain of Memories was a dagger, to respect the "cloak and dagger" thing. And the weapons Xedrin is wielding now are Oblivion and Oathkeeper.)

Setzer drew his katana, Rai grabbed a halberd, Fuu pulled out her shuriken, and a hooded man who appeared with them, who removed his hood, summoned a gun in each hand, with more of a crossbow style than a modern gun.

Xedrin singled out Setzer to attack. Then, with careful precision, he lunged, and stabbed at him with Oblivion. Setzer dodged the attack, and swiped at him. Xedrin easily blocked the attack with Oathkeeper, and then he swung into the locked swords with Oblivion, crossing the keyblades into an X.

Meanwhile, Axel was fighting Rai, and not having too much trouble. Rai jabbed at him with the halberd, and he was barely able to dodge it. Axel returned by throwing a flaming chakram at Rai, who blocked it, and it was caught by Axel. Then, Axel spun both chakrams in his hands, turning them into disks of flame, and threw them at Rai. He blocked the first one, but the second one cut through his halberd and sliced through him.

Zexion was having a little trouble fighting Fuu, as her shuriken made it difficult for him to get close enough to attack with his dagger. She threw the shuriken at him again, but this time he caught it and threw it back at her, striking her arm. She cried out in pain, giving Zexion enough time to close in and stab her in the heart. She cried out in pain, and fell to her knees, clutching the wound. Then, she took a look at her wound, and then fell to the ground, never to rise again.

Demyx, on the other hand, was having a great deal of trouble. He was stuck fighting Xigbar, and he couldn't even get near him and not get shot. Most of the time, he was either dodging or blocking arrows that were being fired at him from Xigbar's guns. He jumped to his right to dodge another shot, but Xigbar was one step ahead of him, and fired at where Demyx was going to be. The shot hit Demyx in the leg, but he refused to cry out, not wanting to give his opponent the satisfaction of his pain. Xigbar smirked and took careful aim.

"Looks like it's the end of the road for you, kid."

He fired a single shot, only to have it deflected into his gut. Demyx gave him a death glare.

"I'm not a kid."

He then launched himself at Xigbar, hitting him several times with the large end of his sitar. As his last attack, Demyx used his power over water to drown Xigbar in a solid cube of water.

Xedrin wasn't having a very tough time against Setzer, but he knew that if he didn't end it soon, Setzer would be able to find a weak point, and he didn't want that. Setzer, on the other hand, was having a hard time breaking through Xedrin's defenses. The fighting style that Xedrin adopted was self-taught, and is unique. He would occasionally jump over Setzer and try to break through his defenses, but Setzer would quickly turn around and block the attack. Eventually, Xedrin went to block one of Setzer's attacks, and Oathkeeper was knocked out of his hand. As Setzer went to strike, he blocked the attack with the only Keyblade he had left. Xedrin halted his assault and went on the defensive. Setzer laughed at this turn of events.

"Where's that 'awesome power' you were so eager to show us? I can't believe Seifer was killed by a wimp like you!"

Xedrin blocked another attack and shoved his hand at Setzer, stopping inches away from his chest. A telekinetic blast threw Setzer several yards away, landing him on a pile of bricks. Xedrin took this chance to show off another one of his unique abilities. He allowed the rage he had always felt to build up inside him, until his eyes went blank and dark energy surrounded him, his rage fueling his strength. Setzer stared at him in awe.

"What the hell are you!"

Xedrin launched himself at the still dazed Setzer at incredible speeds. The force of the impact sent them both flying into a concrete wall. When the dust cleared, Xedrin stood a few feet away from Setzer, who was barely managing to remain conscious. Xedrin used his mind to lift Setzer several feet in the air, until his arm was fully extended. Xedrin looked up at the dying man with no pity or sorrow.

"When you get to the other side, tell my parents that their son will have his vengeance."

"No… please… don't," was all that Setzer could reply as he felt his throat begin to collapse. In one swift motion, Xedrin yanked back his outstretched hand, and out from Setzer came a sickening '_snap!_', and the body then fell limp in the telekinetic grasp. Xedrin dropped his hand, letting the corpse of Setzer fall, and he turned back to his comrades.

"Release my friends, and then let us leave this place. It's time we found out who's in charge of this gang."

I'm sorry it took so long, but I've got school and a life, so don't expect there to be many updates. I know, some of the fighting scenes are a little corny, but hey, I'm working on it.

R&R, for all the good it'll do me.


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